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Nordic walking for total fitness PDF

216 Pages·2010·10.563 MB·English
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Nordic Walking for Total Fitness Suzanne Nottingham Alexandra Jurasin Human Kinetics Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nottingham, Suzanne, 1958- Nordic walking for total fitness / Suzanne Nottingham and Alexandra Jurasin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8178-8 (soft cover) ISBN-10: 0-7360-8178-X (soft cover) 1. Fitness walking. 2. Physical fitness. I. Jurasin, Alexandra, 1972- II. Title. RA781.65.N68 2010 613.7’176--dc22 2009033632 ISBN-10: 0-7360-8178-X (print) ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8178-8 (print) Copyright © 2010 by Suzanne Nottingham and Alexandra Jurasin All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. The Web addresses cited in this text were current as of November 2009, unless otherwise noted. Acquisitions Editor: Laurel Plotzke; Developmental Editor: Kevin Matz; Assistant Editor: Scott Hawkins; Copyeditor: Joy Wotherspoon; Indexer: Dan Connolly; Permission Manager: Martha Gullo; Graphic Designer: Fred Starbird; Graphic Artist: Kim McFarland; Cover Designer: Keith Blomberg; Photographer (cover): Eisend/Imago/Icon SMI; Photographer (interior): Neil Bernstein, unless otherwise noted; Photo Asset Manager: Laura Fitch; Visual Production Assistant: Joyce Brumfield; Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen; Art Manager: Kelly Hendren; Associate Art Manager: Alan L. Wilborn; Illustrator: Alan L. Wilborn; Printer: United Graphics Our thanks to UC Davis for allowing us to pho tograph in the campus Arboretum. Human Kinetics books are available at special discounts for bulk purchase. Special editions or book excerpts can also be created to specification. For details, contact the Special Sales Manager at Human Kinetics. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper in this book is certified under a sustainable forestry program. Human Kinetics Web site: www.HumanKinetics.com United States: Human Kinetics Australia: Human Kinetics P.O. Box 5076 57A Price Avenue Champaign, IL 61825-5076 Lower Mitcham, South Australia 5062 800-747-4457 08 8372 0999 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Canada: Human Kinetics New Zealand: Human Kinetics 475 Devonshire Road Unit 100 P.O. Box 80 Windsor, ON N8Y 2L5 Torrens Park, South Australia 5062 800-465-7301 (in Canada only) 0800 222 062 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Europe: Human Kinetics 107 Bradford Road Stanningley Leeds LS28 6AT, United Kingdom +44 (0) 113 255 5665 e-mail: [email protected] E4768 Nordic Walking for Total Fitness C ontents Preface vi Acknowledgments viii PArt I Better Fitness With the Nordic Approach 1 Walking Plus: The Gym to Go 2 2 Gearing Up: The Right Equipment for You 9 3 Taking the First Steps: Poling, Posture, and Stride 22 4 Stepping Up: Variations for Cardio, Strength, and Power 37 5 Changing Pace: Variations for Balance, Coordination, Agility, and Flexibility 72 6 Stepping Out: Adapting to Different Terrain 98 7 Starting Up: Identifying the Workout for You 108 iv PArt II Nordic Walking Workouts 8 Short and Easy 126 9 Medium and Steady 133 10 Medium and Quick 139 11 Short and Fast 145 12 Long and Steady 151 13 Outdoor Circuit Training 157 PArt III Programming for Long-Term Goals 14 Training for Cardio Health and Fitness 170 15 Targeting Total-Body Fitness 179 16 Cross-Training for Sports 186 17 Customizing Your Program 195 Index 203 About the Authors 207 v P reface A s a lifelong skier, I’ve found that using poles for balance, stability, and rhythm is as natural as brushing my teeth. So, more than 10 years ago, I had no trouble adjusting to using walking poles for summer fitness. As an instructor, I’d seen miracle after miracle in folks who used poles to improve their walking. But it wasn’t until I needed a total hip replacement that the real miracle happened. I am a long-distance hiker; I can trek up and down Mt. Whitney (22 miles) in one day without poles. Just one experience with the poles made me realize what I had in my hands. Poles became part of the contents of my car trunk for use any time, any place. I used Nordic walking poles for fitness walks until my hip surgery. The poles turned out to be integral during recovery, allowing me to bear weight evenly on both legs much sooner than I would have if I’d used the archaic, spine-wrenching recovery tools currently recommended by doctors—the dreaded walker and cane. As an athlete, I knew better than to hurry in recovery. So, I took my time, gradually increasing my walking speed. My first official walk 12 days postop was on a path that typically takes 20 minutes. I will always remember that walk because it took 2 hours! My postsurgery objective was to trek Mt. Whitney again in a day hike. On July 7, 2004, two years to the day postop, I did it again, but this time with poles. After a wholesome mantra during the 11 miles up (“posture, level chin, relaxed traps, relaxed pace, endurance”), the mantra for the 11 miles back down (“cold beer, hot bath; cold beer, hot bath”) resonated through my body. But what didn’t resonate this time was a stitch of pain. This was my miracle. And to this day, still no pain. Considering the times when I couldn’t walk for a week after a hike because of a hip disability, this time the hike was nothing—except time, patience, and symmetrical movements thanks to the poles. This book is a result of dedication to the functional activity of Nordic walk- ing. The Nordic Walk Now team trainers also devoted their expertise, passion, and time to this work; my coauthor, Alexandra Jurasin, and I are greatly appre- ciative of that. Since March 2006 we have worked to mesh science, skills, and vi Preface vii innovation to bring our customers and readers the most updated information available about Nordic walking fitness. The North American low-impact techniques described in this book are proprietary to Nordic Walk Now and fast becoming well known as the safest path to reaching the objectives of Nordic walking fitness. We believe that to prevent injuries, you must be aware of impact and how to avoid it with efficient technique and an attention to your own process of motor-skill development. The good news is that we walk you through it from point A to point Z. Our only goals for you are that you grasp Nordic walking in any way that fits into your regimen and choose it as one of your lifelong sports. In this book, although similar principles and methods of athletic training are used, it is inappropriate to recommend longer pole lengths because we cannot assume that everyone is interested in training with the specificity or intensity of a professional athlete. Even more important is our conservative approach toward developing fitness proficiency. We won’t assume you are at a certain fitness level. Instead, we provide the progressive path to “walk yourself into fitness” at any intensity that suits you. Furthermore, consider that pro athletes have trainers by their sides, have gone through extensive evaluation and testing, and have experience using poles. Finally, remember that you get out of Nordic walking what you put into it. This is the beauty of the sport. If you choose to walk slower, you will acquire strength, but with less resistance from the tips you will get a lower impact workout. If you choose to walk with speed and power, you’ll acquire strength proportionate to your effort. In either case, you will walk stronger! A cknowledgments W e thank our athlete models who danced for the camera with effortless grace: Courtney McElvain, Elisabeth Marsh, Michael Cohee, Alex Buss, and Jane Rackl. Special thanks to Kendra Densmore and her family for always being there with consistent support and belief in the cause from the start. My children Taylor and Lucas deserve special recognition over the past year for putting up so patiently with the words, “Sorry kids, I can’t go out and play. I have to work on my book.” Thanks to others who donated perspective and pre- cious time: Debbie Chalfant, Rachael Clark, Christine Schnitzer, Jill Hall, Jennifer Lockwood, Kathy Freedlund, Rose Zahnn, Ken Alan, Linda Lemke, Janet Shee- han, Robin Barnes, Trish Alexander, and Jennifer Schweisinger. The generosity of our product sponsors is appreciated: SpringBoost, Thorlo, Leki, and Gabel. We also value the support of our p eers in education: Malin Svensson of Nordic Walking North America, Tom Rutlin of Exerstrider, Dan Barrett of Fittrek, East Coast Alliance, and our friends at the American Council on Exercise. We give tremendous thanks to all the participants of our Nordic Walk Now instructor trainings over the last few years. Their participation, questions, and enthusiasm kept us learning and inspired to develop and teach a curriculum that extends beyond convention and touches everyone in profound ways. Finally, thanks to the University of California at Davis for allowing us to photograph the images in this book in the magnificent campus arboretum. viii I PART Better Fitness With the Nordic Approach 1 CHAPTER Walking Plus: The Gym to Go G et outside and move forward! Imagine finally shedding that extra few pounds that many fitness programs fail to help you lose, completing your first half marathon, or relishing fitness in the splendor of the outdoors, away from walls, electronics, and the sweat of other people. What if you could do all this while increasing back strength and bone density? Nordic walking is a modern and complete method of full-body training. Through the workouts and programs provided in this book, we’ve created a system we call “gym to go,” and it’s a new form of cardio training—workouts guaranteed to help you accomplish the results you desire. Nordic walking is a fitness activity that uses specially designed poles to engage the upper body’s musculature. It offers a variety of benefits regardless of your fitness level, age, or experience. You can practice Nordic walking at almost any place and time, and it’s free. The potential to improve your health and fitness level is right in the palms of your hands. You can start today and do it for the rest of your life. Add poles to the trunk of your car, and your gym is ready to go just about anywhere! Nordic walkers combine poles and physical strength to move their own body weight forward and over the ground. This is how it provides both a cardio and strength workout simultaneously. The combination of continuous, rhythmic motion and the resistance generated by the tips of the poles creates power- ful momentum. When body mass meets speed in one direction (in this case, forward), your reaction to resistance in the pole tips propels you forward. 2

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